Manufacture of sheets of glass.



No. 797,646. PATENTED AUG. 22; 1905.

F. L. 0.. WADSWORTH. MANUFACTURE 01- SHEETS 0P GLASS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1903. RENEWED JAN. 21, 1905.

8 SHEETS-E8331 l4 No, 797,646. PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

F. L. 0. WADSWORTH.

MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS (JP-GLASS.

APPLIUATIOH FILED JUNE 18. 1903. RENEWED S11E21, 1005.

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FRANK L. O. IVADSWORTH, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF SHEETS OF GLASS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed June 18, 1903. Renewed January 21, 1905. Serial No242,107.

To (LZZ whom, it new concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. 0. Lens- WORTH, of Allegheny, Alleghenycounty, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usef Lil Improvement inthe Manufacture of Sheets of Glass, of which the following is a full,clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a verticalsection of a machine suitable for the practice of my invention. Fig. 2is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a detail of the frame for holding the glasssheet, and Fig. 4: is a perspective view of a modified form of framewhich I may employ in making wireglass.

Attempts have been made heretofore to roll glass sheets by causing theplastic glass to pass between two forming-rolls in a manner similar tothe rolling of metal, but so far as I know these attempts by others havebeen unsuccessful, and I believe that the cause of the unsuccess hasbeen the lack of means for holding and controlling the glass as itemerged from the rolls, and thus preventing distortion of the sheet.

My invention is designed to provide means by which rolls can be usedsuccessfully for this purpose, and glass sheets thus produced veryrapidly and with both surfaces of equal quality. WVhe're aroll and arolling-table are used as in the process ordinarily employed, the sideof the sheet formed in contact with the table is always of inferiorfinish.

My invention consists in rolling a glass sheet between rolling surfacesand as the sheet is delivered from the rolls simultaneously supportingit in contact with the air on both sides with a support which travelswith the glass.

In the drawings, in which I show apparatus suitable for the practice ofmy invention, 2 2 are the forming-rolls, journaled in suitable supportsand driven at equal speed by gearing 3 A 5 6.

For the purpose of supporting the glass as it is rolled I employ a frame7, (shown in Figs. 3 and 4,) two of the marginal bars of which arehinged, as shown at 8- 9 in Fig. 3. The frame is of the size of thesheet desired to be rolled and the inner edges of its side bars 9 9 arecontracted in thickness, as at 10, to the thickness desired for thesheet. In order that the frame may be passed between the rolls, the bar8 is of the same thickness as the sheet desired and the rolls havereduced portions 12 at their ends for the passage of the side bars 9 9.The bottom bar 13 has its upper surface shaped, as shown in Fig. 1, soas to fit between the rolls on the delivery side of the pass. The framehas a rack 14:, which meshes with the driving-pinion 3, so that as therolls rotate the frame will be moved between them at the same surfacespeed.

In the practice of my invention the frame is retracted until the end bar13 fits within and closes the roll-pass, and a body of plastic glass 16is then delivered to the rolls. As the rolls rotate the glass will berolled into the form of a sheet, its lower edge being attached to thebar 13, and as the frame travels between the rolls at the same rate asthe sheet the glass will attach itself to the side bars and will besupported thereby, so that when the frame is finally delivered it willcontain a glass sheet attached at its edges and supported and heldthereby. Being thus supported by the frame and in contact with the airon both its faces a sheet of very fine finish is produced. hen the frameis delivered from the rolls, it is removed and the finished sheetdetached. For thispurpose I prefer to provide the frame with wheels 17,adapted to rest upon a rail 18 when the frame is at its lowest position.The frame carrying the sheet can then be moved edgewise opposite to atable 19, which is hinged at 20 and standsin a vertical position. Theframe is rested against the table and the table is turned back to ahorizontal position, so as to support the glass sheet, whereupon thesides 8 and 9 of the frame can be opened, as shown in Fig. 3, and thesheet released therefrom.

If it be desired to impress a figured surface or surfaces or a prismsurface upon the glass sheet, I employ patterned pressure-plates 22 23,set below the rolls on opposite sides of the path of the frame, andlever mechanism 2 actuated by hand or by a power-cylinder 25. When thesheet has been delivered from the rolls and the frame is in its lowestposition, the piston 25 of the cylinder 25 may be projected, whereuponthe pressure-plates will be forced together upon the intermediate glasssheet and the pattern will be impressed upon the glass. Thesepressure-plates may have plain surfaces and may be used for the purposeof flattening or straightening the sheet of glass. To guide thepressure-plates and to insure parallelism of motion, I prefer to providethem with guides 26.

My invention is of great utility in the manufacture of wire-glass. Forthis purpose I may construct the frame, as shown in Fig. 4:, with eachof its margins formed of two bars a Z), the bar a being pivoted to thebar 5. The wire mesh 27 to be embedded in the glass is stretched betweenthe bars of the frame and is held taut by securing the bars together.When the frame thus constituted is passed between the rolls, the glasssheet will be spread on both sides of the wire mesh, producing an evensheet of uniform thickness throughout and with the wire exactly in themiddle or at any desired distance from either surface.

Within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims the skilledmanufacturer of glass will be able to modify in various ways theapparatus employed for practicing the process, since I believe that myinvention is broadly new in that I roll a glass sheet betweenrolling-surfaces and by supporting means external to the glass i.e.,'other than the sheet itselfsupport it below the rollingsurfaces incontact with the air on both sides, and I intend to claim the sameirrespective of the particular mechanism which may be employed.

I claim 1. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forminga sheet between rollingsurfaces, and as it is delivered supporting thesheet by its margin only; substantially as described.

2. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces and as it is delivered supporting it by externalmeans attached to the margin only of the sheet, both surfaces of saidsheet re maining in contact with the air throughout; substantially asdescribed.

3. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces and as it is delivered supporting it by itsmargin only, and maintaining said support until the sheet has beendelivered from the rolls; substantially as described.

at. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces on both sides of an intermediate mesh andsupporting the sheet by means applied at the edges only of the mesh;substantially as described.

5. The method of makingglass sheets,which consists in forming a sheet atone operation between rolling-surfaces on both sides of an intermediatemesh and supporting the mesh by its edges only before introducing it between the rolls; substantially as described.

6. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in applyingrolling-surfaces to each side of a body of glass and thereby rolling itinto a sheet, supporting said sheet by its margin only, and thensubjecting it to the action of pressing-surfaces on both sides;substantially as described.

7. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces, supporting said sheet in a vertical plane byexternal means applied at its margin only, and then subjecting both itssurfaces to the simultaneous action of pressing-surfaces; substantiallyas described.

8. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces on both sides of an intermediate mesh while themesh is supported by its margin only, and then subjecting the surface ofthe sheet to the action of figured pressing-surfaces; substantially asdescribed.

9. The method of making glass sheets, which consists in forming a sheetbetween rollingsurfaces on both sides of an intermediate mesh,supporting the rolled sheet in a vertical plane by its margin only, andthen subjecting both surfaces of the sheet to the simultaneous action offigured pressing-surfaces; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK L. O. WVADSVVORTH.

Witnesses:

THoMAs W. BAKEWELL, Gno. B. BLEMING.

